Bunn (N.C.) athlete Brandon Barnes has gone from being heralded to coveted in two months time.

Barnes was bombarded with scholarship offers from schools throughout the Southeast toward the end of March. As April began, Barnes started to notice several unfamiliar zip codes marked on the letters in his mailbox.

Last week, a strange area code showed up on the caller-id at the football offices at Bunn High School. Without notice, Barnes was on the phone with USC running backs coach Todd McNair.

"I spoke to T-Mac, and he said they were offering me," said Barnes. "That's a school way away from home, but I was very happy to hear from them."